Entertainment_Weekly_Issue_1456_March_10_2017

(From top)Missing Richard Simmons

is available on iTunes; Dan Taberski

often attended Simmons’ classes

Richard Simmons, now 68, hasn’t responded to emails, texts, or calls from friends

Real NewsSeason 2 ofScience Vs. (3/9) will tackle fact

versus fiction on topics like immigration and ghosts.•More

to TellEmbedded also returns March 9 with a new series

on videos of police shootings, and the stories behind them.

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EDITED BY CRISTINA EVERETT@cristinaeverett

Podcasts

RICHARD,

CAN YOU

HEAR US?

It’s a simple question that comes

with a complex answer. Three

years ago, Richard Simmons

abruptly cut off contact with

all of his friends and family.

On aSerial-esque new podcast,

Missing Richard Simmons,

filmmaker Dan Taberski explores

why the fitness guru ghosted

his old life.BY CRISTINA EVERETT

What a unique idea for a podcast!

What inspired you to tell this story?

I first met Richard because I heard

he was teaching a class in Beverly

Hills for $12 and I couldn’t believe it.

I went and it was incredible. We

became friends and started hanging

out a little bit, and then he disap-

peared. I realized he wasn’t calling

anybody, and to be honest, I just

couldn’t let it go. I wanted to know

he was okay so I started pursuing it.

The show will last only six episodes.

What can listeners expect to hear?

This story takes a lot of twists and

turns. This isn’t a podcast about a

celebrity and the fans who love him.

This is about Richard Simmons the

man and all these people who he

made intense personal relationships

with.... At the same time, we sort of

peel away the layers of the interest-

ing, complicated guy he is and

remind people about how important

he is and how he changed things.

Listeners have started to compare the

show toSerial. How does that feel?

It’s bananas. Just the fact that people

are listening to it and are into it, it

makes me feel like I’m not crazy. The

fact that people are comparing it to

Serialis terrifying and super exciting.

The podcast now ranks at the top of

the iTunes charts. However, there

have been skeptics who think Rich-

ard should just be left alone. How do

you respond to the criticism?

I would say that Richard Simmons

used to wake up at four in the morn-

ing and call 30, 40, 50 people a

day—people who lived in the mid-

dle of nowhere, who were alone and

needed kindness—and he would

help them. He did that for 40 years

and most people didn’t even know

he was doing it. So I see this [pod-

cast] as our chance to repay that

favor and to show somebody like

Richard a little bit of empathy now.

Have you heard from him?

What I will say is that there has

been some stirring. People are

taking notice.

How do you envision this ending?

I want this to be a gesture to Rich-

ard, to tell his story and to let him

know that he’s maybe a little more

understood than he thinks. Once

that’s done, regardless of whether or

not [he] decides to talk to us, I think

I will have achieved my goal. That’s

its purpose, to reach out to him.

This is our grand gesture. It’s compli-

cated, but it’s a bit of a love letter.

MARCH 10, 2017 EW.COM 71

SIMMONS: BOBBY BANK/WIREIMAGE; WITH TABERSKI: COURTESY OF DAN TABERSKI